Eureka daily sentinel. [volume] (Eureka, Nev.) 1871-1887, 1887-04-29
CRAMMrNG IN THE SCHOOLS.

In the last number of the Popular
Science Monthly DIR. VIM. A. Ham.
mond directs attention to what he calls
"brsin forcing in childhood" The evil
is a common one in u public schools.
The attempt is made to teach too many
subjects and too much at a time. DR..
Hammond brings up a typical case that
recently came before him. Not long
since a lady brought her twelve.year.old
daughter to him to be treated for st.
Vitus' dance, constant headache and
other nervous arrangements. She was
On her way to school and carried her
satchel of books with her. The doctor
emptied it Of nine books on nine different
subjects of knowledge. She was ex.
pected to study and perfect herself in a
certain amount from each of these be.
tween three in the afternoon of one day
and nine in the morning of the next.
"Allowing." says the doctor, one
hour for dinner, half an hour for break.
fast. an hour for undressing at night and
dressing in the morning, an hour for
going home and returning to school, and
eight hours for sleep land less than that
will not suffice for a growing boy or girl
it had better be nine or tenl and we
have six hours and half left in which
to study nine different branches Of learn
ing /"
Even the trained mind of an adult, he
adds, would be p~ardoned if it failed to
master nine unfamiliar subjects in that
time, and supposed Hongkong was a
lunar volcano. or mixed up any other
part of his newly acquired knowledge.
But the girl showed no confusion of
ideas. She had studied her lessons
well. She had learned what was set be.
fore her, but she had done it at the ex-
pense of her brain capital. The nervous
complaints for which she was to be treated
were directly due to o%verstudy.
luis Ease Is uOb al iSOiatcu OuCs v
is typical Of a large number to be found
in every city in the Union. The brain
forcing process is going on in all the
large schools of the country. It's evil
effects are seen most frequently in girls.
They submit to the burden placed upon
them, and rob themselves of sleep and
exercise to satisfy the requirements of
their teachers. Boys are better able to
look out for themselves. They are more
impatient of restraint, and take as much
pride in the sports as in their studies.
The burden falls heaviest on those least
able to bear it. The effect is seen in the
prevalence of nervous diseases.
1t ought to be possible to educate the
present generation without drawing on
the bodily strength that is the capital of
the future. While education has made
great advances in the past few years it is
not a success while so large a percentage
of those who pass through the schools
are injured in bodily and mental health
by the training given.
The schools must recognize the fact
that children have bodies as well as
minds, and that the former are some-
times more important in natural economy
than the latter. The race managed to
exist very comfortably for some thou.
sands of years before the brain.forcing
process was invented. It is not likely
that we should ~retrograde into barbarism
if it should be abandoned. At any rate,
a healthy tribe of savages is a more
pleasant sight than a well-illed insane
asylum with every modern convenience.